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Hawk was already waiting when I got to the clubhouse. He was nursing one of the Night Shift beers. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to take the edge off after this morning. He gestured for me to sit down next to him. Other than the two of us, the clubhouse was quiet. Good. I didn’t want to explain to the rest of the clan how our plan had already gone off the rails.

“What’s next?” Hawk asked. “What’s our next move?”

“Start calling in favors. There’s a wolf that’ll definitely give us some information.”

Hawk snorted. “He better.”

Levi, a wolf shifter who had worked with Sean, answered after the third ring. “I told you I was done with this mess, Steph,” he snapped in greeting. “I told you not to call me again.”

“Glad you’re doing well,” I said, putting the phone on speaker. The last time we’d spoken, Levi had made it clear hewas leaving town and never working with Sean again. “You settle down somewhere?”

“Far away from the mess of Lakeview, yeah.”

“Good. I need your help.”

“I told you, I’mout?—”

“I don’t need you to do anything, Levi,” I said. “Just information. Sean kidnapped my mate. We got her back—well, she got herself back—but Sean tried it as a last-ditch attempt to gain control of the clan.”

“He’s getting desperate,” Levi said.

“Any idea why?” I asked.

Levi exhaled hard. “When I left, he was trying to set up some serious deals. And I think his mouth was writing checks that his ‘clan’ couldn’t cash. That might be coming to bite him in the ass.”

“Who was he dealing with?”

“He’s got a guy out west. Castille. You know him?”

“Never heard of him.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Levi said. “I bet he’s heard of you, though.”

“You have his info?” I asked.

“What are you going to do?”

“Undermine Sean.” I was confident Levi wouldn’t share anything with Sean, but even if he did, what would Sean even do about it? “Whatever he’s offering this Castille, I’m sure I can beat it.”

Levi huffed a laugh, but there wasn’t any humor in it. “Yeah, I don’t doubt that. I’ll forward it. Just stop calling me, Ace. For real this time. I’ll change my number if I have to.”

“I won’t darken your doorstep anymore. Thanks for the information.”

“I feel like I owe it to you,” Levi admitted, “but the debt’s paid. Deal?”

“Deal.”

The line went dead. I was lucky Levi had picked up in the first place, so I didn’t begrudge him for dropping the call like that. A moment later, my phone buzzed with a text from Levi.

“Castille, huh?” Hawk said. “Never heard of him. What are you going to offer him?’

“Dunno yet,” I admitted. “I’ll see what Sean offered him, and then I’ll outbid him. It’s not like Sean has that many resources.”

“Good point.”

“If Levi is right, Sean can’t make good on the deals he’s made. If this Castille guy is smart, he’ll see the benefit of dealing with the Lakeview clan instead of their enemy.”

Hawk frowned. “We’re out of the game, though. No more criminal deals, right?”